There’s a new social media platform in town! Threads — the Twitter alternative from Meta — launched this month, becoming instantly popular and amassing hundreds of millions of followers in just a few days.
There are plenty of other Twitter alternatives out there since Elon Musk acquired the social media company, all fighting for the users that have jumped ship since the controversial CEO took over. But if you want to know what separates Threads and Twitter, you’ve come to the right place.
Whether you’ve downloaded the new social media app or not, you’re likely a bit confused about whether or not Threads and Twitter are different at all. In this guide, we’ll explain how these two social media platforms differ, so you can decide which one is right for you.
Threads vs Twitter: Head-to-Head
Here’s how Twitter and Threads match up on basic features like post length, photos, and trending pages.
Check out our What Is Threads? guide for more detailed information
| Post length | Photos | Videos | Links | Edit | Messaging | Trending | Hashtags | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Threads | X (Twitter) | ||||||||
| 500 characters | 280 characters | ||||||||
| | | ||||||||
| 5 minutes | 2 min 20 secs | ||||||||
| | | ||||||||
| | | ||||||||
| | | ||||||||
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Note: These metrics are based on free Twitter users; Twitter Blue subscribers are able to post videos with no time limit, post longer Tweets, and edit posts.
Threads is growing faster than Twitter
While Twitter admittedly has a 17-year head start on Threads, the Meta-owned social media platform has taken off in the short time since its launch. In fact, as of writing, Threads has grown to 100 million followers, becoming the fastest social media platform in history to achieve that goal.
Twitter, on the other hand, is having trouble holding onto their current users, let alone attracting new users. In fact, a study in May found that 25% of users expect to ditch Twitter within the year. Suffice it to say, Threads is on the rise, and Twitter is on the decline.
Twitter has more features than Threads
As you likely saw from the table above, Twitter is still well ahead of Threads when it comes to actual functionality. Twitter has a discovery page, a following page, hashtags, and direct messaging, all of which has yet to come to Threads in any capacity.
Still, Threads is barely a week old, and the resources behind Meta are obviously substantial. Considering Zuck and the CEO of Threads have both confirmed new features are on the way, it’s safe to say that this win for Twitter may be short lived.
Threads has a better verification system than Twitter
One of the biggest problems with Twitter since Musk’s takeover was the verification fiasco, in which the platform did away with standard verification and instead made the blue check purchasable for all users. This caused utter confusion and led to a wide range of misinformation regarding brands and notable celebrities.
Threads, on the other hand, has not only kept the standard verification system, but also carried it over from Instagram, so if your account is verified on the popular photo-sharing app, you’ll also be verified on Threads.
Twitter is more toxic than Threads
We can all admit that Twitter is a bit toxic, and recently, it’s not just because it’s amassed 17 years’ worth of trolls. Musk also fired many of the social media platform’s content moderators, leaving users to be particularly unkind to anyone they come across with little consequence.
Compared to Twitter, Threads is a breath of fresh air, with individuals and brands engaging in a friendly way, so far. Admittedly, the positivity can be a bit much, but it’s certainly better than being called a racial slur for supporting a particular sports team.
Threads is a part of Meta, and Twitter isn’t
While Threads is admittedly a pleasant departure from the depravity of Twitter, let’s not forget that its parent company Meta has been far from perfect when it comes to protecting user data. In fact, the Threads privacy policy has already come under fire from many, citing the same problematic tracking behavior found on Facebook and Instagram.
Twitter certainly isn’t perfect either, though, with the company’s security executives resigning due to the platform’s poor privacy practices. Still, if you check the data safety features in the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, you’ll see that Twitter is tracking far less than its competitors.
Threads Features Pending
Twitter may have more functionality for now, but it’s important to remember that, as of writing, Threads is only a week old. There’s more than a 100% chance that Meta is going to continue to add and improve Threads to be a full-fledged Twitter alternative.
Even better, Mark Zuckerberg and Threads CEO Adam Mosseri have confirmed that some new features will be coming, noting specifically that they are “on the list.” Here are some of the features likely coming to Threads in the near future:
- The ability to edit posts
- Support for multiple languages
- Simple account switching
- Improved desktop functionality
All that to say, in its short existence, Threads has proven to be a viable alternative to Twitter, and there’s a good chance it’s only going to get better. Check back here for more updates as the social media platform becomes part of everyday life.
